|
| ITALIAN RECIPES TRADITIONAL AND CREATIVE
THE ITALIAN NAMES NAMES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE MEAT |
|
|
|
| lamb
| agnello
| Normally we distinguish between the abbacchio or agnello da latte(baby lamb) which fed only with milk and is not older than 4 weeks, characterized by a tender and delicate meat .Then we have the agnello (milk-fed lamb), not older than 2-6 months, which fed with grass and characterized by a strong and aromatic taste |
| sheep
| pecora
| the pecora is the female ovine: It is used for eating only in a limited time of its life, until no more of 18 months old the tradition of cooking the pecora is widespread in the middle of Italy and in Sardinia
|
| mutton
| castrato
| The castrato is the castrated male. In this manner the meats are tender and with a more delicate flavor, however fatter than the pecora. The castrato must be eaten no more than 18 months old. |
On the commerce we find either entire or sliced animals. The most appreciated are the legs and the carrč, from where we obtain the chops. From the other parts come the ingredients for the "arrosticini" (skewers) and for the "spezzatino" (stewed)
1 - the coscia (legs) - cut useful for the oven cooking. It can be boned and rolled. From this cut is made a good ham
2 - the carrč (shoulder, chops) - it is good for choreographic preparations as the crown, obtained by joining two carrč without vertebral column and joined in a crown shape with the bones protruding
The costolette (chops) obtained from the carrč cut to slices. The breast is rather fat but tasty.
3 - The paletta (shoulder) - usually sold entire, characterized f The shoulder, usually sold entire, characterized by a meat ticker than the leg: Suitable to many cookings.
4 - The collo (neck) - sold entire or minced for a stewed
|
|
A development is due also to the Eu policy regarding the cow's milk, which pushed people to valorize alternatives to this product.
For avoiding the extinction of the autochthonous races many regions created protection consortiums, and it gave a great advantage to all the Italian areas. For this reason it is possible to find more than 60 qualities of pecorino cheese, many fresh cheeses and a great variety of recipes that have the ovine meat or milk as basic ingredient: impossible to think at the pesto genovese without the pecorino dolce or the neccio (the Tuscan bread with chestnut flour) without ricotta of sheep!
